Different Ways to Style Your Biracial Child's Hair: Parts, Ponytails, Braids and Cornrows

Parting and ponytails are the easiest hairstyles for most people to style for their children. Parting the hair simply consists of parting the hair in sections either in a design or by boxed sections and applying cream hairdressing or oil to the sections. By parting the hair you bring the individual strands of hair together into one larger section which will make the hair easier to style in a natural hair do. Make as many or as few sections as you want. Parting is also the first step in styling your child's hair into ponytails. You can section the child's hair in half to begin parting the hair with a comb from just behind the child's left ear extending behind the child's right ear. Pull the remaining hair on the top half of the child's head loosely into a ponytail. Take the remaining hair from the child's ear to the nape of the child's neck and comb it down the middle splitting the hair vertically to form a part. You can now pull the individual parts into small ponytails securing the ponytail at the root of the hair. At this point you can also braid or twist the hair in the ponytail to add to the style if you choose. Now take the remaining hair on top of the child's hair that was pulled loosely into the ponytail and use the same method of parting as you did for the bottom section of hair. To finish the style you can add barrettes at the base of the ponytail or at the ends of the braids.

Braids are a healthy hairstyle for you little one as long as the hair isn't pulled too tightly. Braiding too tightly will lead to "bumps" near the root of the hair because of the follicles being pulled too tightly. Hair pulled back too tightly will also lead to breakage at the roots and edges of the hair which can lead to permanent hair loss. If braided properly the hair will allow the scalp to breathe, controls the hair, and allows growth of the hair without daily styling. Single braids are the simplest start to braiding. When you have the parting technique perfected you can start to work on your braiding technique. Part the hair into a number of sections starting with medium sized sections. Once sectioned part one section into the pieces of hair. Spread the three sections between your middle and index fingers with two pieces in the right hand and one in the left. Now take the first strand and cross it in the middle of the other two strands. Take the outside strand from the other hand and cross it over the middle strand. Continue with crossing the right strand over the middle strand, then the left over the middle. When finished with the braid secure the end of the braid with a barrette or plastic stretch hair tie.

Cornrow braids are simply an extension of regular braiding. With cornrows, the sections of hair should be long and thin, about a quarter inch to one inch wide. After parting use three small subsections from the front of the hair, placing your fingers under the hair so that a braid is formed on the top of the hair. Use the same motion as you would with single braids, but as you braid downward, grab the hair and join it with the hair you are moving left to right. Take the right strand and the left hand like you do in a single braiding, pick up the hair from under and join it with the strands that form the braid. As with single braids you can use barrettes or hair ties to secure the ends. With practice cornrowing becomes simple. Some people choose to put beads in the hair with cornrows but I find they have a tendency to weigh down the already styled hair.